Patoranking

BIOGRAPHY

Patoranking grew up as the oldest of 5 in Ilaje, Nigeria, a town commonly referred to as the ghetto in Lagos. His family lived in extreme poverty as his parents struggled to put food on the table. In order to help his parents make ends meet, Patoranking began to “Hawk”—selling of various goods to passengers on traffic-clogged roads at the age of 13. Since childhood, he had aspirations to move his family out of the ghetto in hopes of seeing his younger siblings grow up in a better environment and allow his hardworking parents to have a more comfortable living.

Patoranking’s career began with him working behind the scenes with a number of top veteran African artists such as Xproject, Konga, Slam, and Reggie Rockstone. Influenced by Buju Banton, Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Lucky Dube, Chaka Demus, Majek Fashek, Blackky, Blackface, Tuface, and marvellous Benjy, Patoranking’s music is a morally conscious version of dancehall that references his personal experiences. Through these artists, Patoranking obtained his values of hard work and creating unique, memorable, and relatable music.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Patoranking is an award-winning Nigerian dancehall artist who has made major waves over the last couple years with hits such as No Kissing, My Woman My Everything, Happy Day, and Girlie O. His unique blend of Dancehall, Reggae and Afrobeats has allowed him to create a distinct sound recognized by many. With his vocal command and patois flair, Patoranking has managed to collaborate with some of Africa’s most respected artists such as Roc Nation’s Tiwa Savage, Ghanaian favourites Sarkodie and Bisa Kedi, as well as one of Africa’s top dancehall artists Timaya.

In 2013, Patoranking collaborated with Timaya, to record chart-topping single “Alubarika”, the hit that would be the launch of his music career. “Alubarika”, which translates to “God’s blessings” took the country by storm and, according to Patoranking, the song tells the story of his transition from “ghetto to hero, from grass to grace”.
In February 2014, he officially signed a record deal with Foston Musik. Under the label, he has released 5 songs, each with an accompanying video: Girlie O and Girlie O (remix) featuring Tiwa Savage, Happy Day, Daniella Whine, and My Woman, My Everything featuring Wande Coal. His songs have been widely accepted by fans and received positive reviews from critics.

In a breakout year marked with performances in Mauritius, New York, Tanzania, and London—including performing alongside Tinashe at Notting Hill Carnival, Patoranking won Nigeria’s most prestigious music award,
The Next Rated Award at the 2014 Headies Awards, and the Best New Act of The Year at the City People Entertainment Awards. In 2015, only 18 months after what has been dubbed a “phoenix-like rise” to stardom, Patoranking signed a distribution deal with the World’s largest reggae imprint, VP Records, making him the first African Dancehall artist to sign a distribution deal with VP records in the label’s 35 year history.
In 2016 Patoranking brought in the year being announced as one of the judges for the season debut of internationally acclaimed reality singing competition The Voice Nigeria. Patoranking continued to dominate the charts with the release of his debut album God Over Everything that featured top Afrobeats artists such as Wizkid, Olamide, Phyno, and more. Just 11 days after the release of his album, the debut reached number 4 on the Billboard charts making him the first Nigerian artist to make Billboard’s Reggae Album Chart. Shortly after, Patoranking won MTV Africa’s Song of the Year award for his hit single My Woman, My Everything featuring Wande Coal.

To date, Patoranking has been nominated for over 20 categories—including Male Artist of the Year and Best Dancehall Artist – taking home more than 10 awards for those categories.